Cape Town – Fresh produce retailer Food Lover’s Market has received a R760m investment boost from emerging market investor Actis, it announced on Friday.
Actis has bought a substantial minority stake in the business and is backing founders Brian and Mike Coppin, together with the existing management team.
This latest transaction is Actis’ fourth investment in South Africa in 18 months, following its recent investments in home furnishings retailer Coricraft, sports shoe retailer Tekkie Town and credit bureau CSH.
Actis has investments across Asia, Africa and Latin America and has R110bn in funds under management.
Actis’ investment in Food Lover’s Market includes funding into the business to continue the company’s growth in South Africa and other countries within sub-Saharan Africa.
With over 120 Food Lover’s Market stores and a presence in 11 countries, Food Lover’s Market Group also operates over 200 FreshStop convenience stores at Caltex service stations. It recently bought artisanal coffee brand Seattle Coffee.
Food retail is the largest retail subsector in the South African economy, valued at R471bn, having grown historically by 9.5% per annum.
Food Lover’s Market CEO Brian Coppin said it was a great business fit.
“What drew us to the firm is its experience of working with family-owned businesses and its deep understanding of sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
“As a management team, we believe that the firm’s knowledge of what it takes to be successful in retail and its proven track record of having built 15 retail malls in 7 countries is a great business fit for our growth strategy in the future.”